disfigurement
n. a blemish or deformity that mars the appearance of the face or body. Disfigurement can result from severe burn scars; mutilations due to wounds, accidents, or radical surgery; and a wide variety of congenital anomalies, some of which are at least partially reparable. The psychological effects of disfigurement are often devastating; they include damage to self-image, loss of self-esteem, feelings of inferiority, self-consciousness, shame, resentment, hypersensitivity, withdrawal, antisocial behavior, and paranoid reactions. These effects often result from the negative and sometimes humiliating reactions of others in a society that places a high value on physical attractiveness. See also facial disfigurement.